Game Works closes all locations

KenLayton

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From the breaking news section today in Playmeter magazine's website:

Changes at GameWorks and Sega Entertainment USA:

According to a Reuters report, "Sega Entertainment USA Inc., which runs the GameWorks U.S. arcade-restaurant chain, has shut down and will liquidate its business." The report continued, "Sega Entertainment acquired the chain out of bankruptcy in 2005 in hopes of reviving the business. . .but Sega Entertainment, which runs about 15 arcade-restaurants, ceased all operations on March 30."

Not long ago, GameWorks announced the restructuring of the organization as it refocused its mission. At that time, the restructuring involved closing seven GameWorks locations, with eight others to remain open. Since then, Tilt--a chain of entertainment centers operated by Nickels and Dimes of Carrollton, Texas--acquired the GameWorks in Indianapolis and will re-brand that facility.
 
wait when did they close? confused, been to one here near by since march 30th i thought, hmmm maybe it was b4 march 30th

just googled id yep they def closed! fawk that was one of my chances i thought to find a iron man pin to play fawk
 
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From the breaking news section today in Playmeter magazine's website:

Changes at GameWorks and Sega Entertainment USA:

According to a Reuters report, "Sega Entertainment USA Inc., which runs the GameWorks U.S. arcade-restaurant chain, has shut down and will liquidate its business." The report continued, "Sega Entertainment acquired the chain out of bankruptcy in 2005 in hopes of reviving the business. . .but Sega Entertainment, which runs about 15 arcade-restaurants, ceased all operations on March 30."

Not long ago, GameWorks announced the restructuring of the organization as it refocused its mission. At that time, the restructuring involved closing seven GameWorks locations, with eight others to remain open. Since then, Tilt--a chain of entertainment centers operated by Nickels and Dimes of Carrollton, Texas--acquired the GameWorks in Indianapolis and will re-brand that facility.

At least the Indy location is being re-branded. I've been wanting to get over there to play Mario Kart.
 
Damn, that didn't last long. It was just on March 30 that they were keeping 8 locations. Something must have gone way wrong with that plan.
 
this'd be a perfect opportunity for N&D to buy out the remaining locations and start competing with Dave & Busters.

i was wondering how long Gameworks would limp along and well, now i have my answer.
 
That really sucks, I was holding out hopes for a gameworks in nashville, or even knoxville eventually.....I loved going to the one in columbus ohio when I was visiting my family.
 
Someone posted about this on RGP ~ a month ago Ken. One of the closures was supposively the Seattle location. I emailed them and the response was, "Seattle is not closing."

It appears some of the info out on the net conflicts with what we're being told.
 
The first time I went to Gameworks in the Ontario Mills Mall a decade or more ago it rocked. There were literally 2 dozen or more classics in the upstairs bar. The last time I went a couple years ago it sucked, they were down to a Ms. Pac, Centipede and Tetris in a remote corner. Little loss for us classic gamers.
 
Damn that SUCKS! Me and a few friends went there when I was in Dallas for business. We had an absolutely BLAST in that place! Played Mario Kart and Tokyo Cop, then went upstairs and realized they had a 4 player air hockey (which then spits out a half dozen pucks at some point). Oh man that really blows :-(
 
Someone posted about this on RGP ~ a month ago Ken. One of the closures was supposively the Seattle location. I emailed them and the response was, "Seattle is not closing."

It appears some of the info out on the net conflicts with what we're being told.

No, this is new. At the end of March they declared they were closing some locations. This press release says they're giving up and closing everything else.
 
This first press release from March 31st was printed in Replay Magazine:

GAMEWORKS TO CLOSE SEVEN STORES
(Posted March 31, 2010 -- 3PM

The national LBE chain GameWorks, owned and operated by Sega Entertainment U.S.A. Inc. (SEUI), says it is restructuring its organization and closing nearly half of its stores to refocus on profitability and future growth. This challenging economic environment has forced us to make these tough financial decisions, said Cory Haynes, president and CEO of Sega Entertainment. The changes were necessary for us to move into the future as a robust, exciting and viable entertainment company.

The restructuring will result in the closing of seven GameWorks locations: Long Beach, CA; Columbus, OH; Detroit, MI; Minneapolis, MN; Indianapolis, IN; Tampa, FL; and Miami, FL. The company has introduced potential new tenants to mall ownership, in hopes that some locations may be reopened in the future. Eight other GameWorks locations, plus World Sports Grille in Tucson, AZ, will remain open and become the focus of renewed effort going forward. Those locations are Seattle, WA; Ontario, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Tempe, AZ; Schaumburg, IL; Cincinnati, OH; and Dallas, TX.

We are committed to meeting the changing needs of our consumers, and to delighting them with a GameWorks experience that is fresh and exciting, said Haynes. We have complete confidence that our leadership team and valued employees will continue to deliver an outstanding experience to our guests with each visit. Their efforts will lead our financial success.
 
Have to admit I was a wee bit scared seeing this post! I live 10 minutes away from the Schaumburg location which is Stern's testing ground for new pins.....
 
I am hearing conflicting stories about this. I do know they closed 7 stores which was a press release on march 31. But then on April 29 on Playmeter's web site it says they ceased operations on March 30. This does not make sense. If they say they are going to close 7 stores and keep 8 open on March 31 but now they say they ceased operations before that on march 30?
 
hmmm i don'nt know Gameworks.com is still up and has 8 places listed.

Me and my buddy where talking about making a trip too a local arcade .. I could really only think of a couple of them and this was one of them.
 
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